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Hi! I’m keeping this blog as a journal of my pony’s training progress!

Current goal: desensitization to people

I visit her as often as I can to take her on walks around the pastures 🐴

Starlight is a 5 year old 14.2hh horse purchased from the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon. She came from Warm Springs in April of 2024 and I bought her from my mounted archery coach on August 7th, 2025. She’s been trained enough to not kill me instantly when I walk with her on the lead rope, but I’m doing the rest (with some help from people who know more than I do)! Working with anxious animals is one of my favourite hobbies, but she’s my first horse and I am absolutely not a person you should ask for Professional Horse Training Tips. Also, I do Not recommend getting a wild mustang as your first horse if you aren’t a very specific flavour of person. I’m doing this because I was vetted to ensure we were a good fit, I’m autistic about picking up on body language, and I’m okay with never being able to ride her.

With that said, feel free to ask questions about Starlight, my experiences with her, and her experiences with the world!

Famous at the barn for “having knives for back feet” and pretending she was pregnant for 9 full months.

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We LOVE the big field

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MY SWEETIE PERFECT GIRL

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MY BABY ANGEL

Haven’t been taking many photos because I’m too busy kissing and hugging her. She’s getting really good at standing for hugs n kisses around the neck and face. I pressed my forehead to hers and she closed her eyes and leaned in.. I’m going to be sick she’s too sweet…… she magically taught herself to line up to me??? When I get up on the railing so I’m Tall she’s started moving so she’s perfectly parallel to the railing 6 inches away.

She got her tetanus vaccine finally! The needle bent because she threw her head but it didn’t break so all is well 🎉

She also has not only gotten better at coming when called, but if I point to a specific place she’ll now boop my finger with her nose when she gets there. We’re still working on picking up her hooves — step one is having her give to pressure, which she’s already starting to figure out really quickly. This is because she’s perfect.

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My sweetie darling who hustles over when I say hello. If you saw me post this on the wrong blog then no you didn’t <3

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She looks like a very polite choir girl.. what will she sing?

She stood so so nicely while I blanketed her for the first time yesterday and we did a lot of work on picking up her feet (she hates it but she’ll figure out what I’m asking for soon enough). I’ll work on trailering her again soon! She was very good with me putting pressure on her back again today 🐴 we’re solidifying recall, but she was awesome with walking past scary things today — we dealt with a huge crowd, a child, cows, and a van with decals and she only paused for a few seconds before making the choice to re-engage with me

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We’ve still been hanging out every day I’ve just been a weenie about updating lately 🐴 yesterday she let me scrape the tops of her hooves with the hoof pick AND give her a bath with no complaint — a few days before, she was still backing away from the water, so that’s a big improvement!

We’ve been strengthening her skills with letting me walk behind her and she’s pretty good at it even at liberty now. She still doesn’t like when I approach from behind her from far away (I announce myself really well — she doesn’t threaten to kick, just turns so I’m at her side instead).

Had a huge lawnmower spook today but she calmed down really nicely after a little freakout and from further away she consistently let me engage her with her Can I Have This cue even while the lawnmower was riding past us.

She was also really brave today for not spooking at the shedding blade, not spooking when I started brushing her at the top of her neck (I usually start at the shoulder), and for letting someone she’s only met a couple times pet her through a car window. She’s never been that close to a car before, and she’s certainly never had someone reach through the window. She usually doesn’t even like people other than me petting her, but she was a perfect angel for it this time.

Today was her second time ever over poles, first time over cross rails. We walked over them both once, then walked them at liberty a few times. Then we worked on trotting at liberty, and then she jumped the crossrails at liberty when I asked her to. This is because she is a perfect angel forever and ever.

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Stares at you cartoon-style

More liberty time with perfect baby angel, she just learned to let me walk behind her Yesterday and today she’s already doing it naked 🐴 she was afraid of me putting the mounting block next to her but approached it just fine so we put her halter back on for a sec to work on standing politely. She’s good at following now (still really bad at Not following) and didn’t even blink when I had her go over a pole with me a few times (even when she tripped over it). A dog sprinted straight at us while she was off lead and she literally had zero reaction because she is perfect forever (we did know this dog, he just wanted to say hi) 🐕

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:3

Gave her a bath today which was huge !!! She stood tied for the second time ever and only got a little antsy in the full 30ish minutes it took to wash her. We started working consistently on walking behind her only yesterday and she’s already standing almost completely still for it. I shampoo’d and conditioned and coconut oiled her hair… hopefully it’ll help a bit! I used my own curly hair stuff to offset the fact that she hasn’t had her mane washed in like 5 years (and to see if she has a wavy mane), and after this I’ll switch to a cheaper product for maintenance. I didn’t want to mess with her forelock or face yet because it’s only her second ever bath. She was a total angel — fidgety when I wasn’t holding her, but she worked really hard to regulate herself (and got a constant supply of treats and praise when she stood still).

She’s getting really good at What’s This, where I hold something up for her to sniff. I think introducing new things that way has helped her to engage with things even when they’re scary, because she gets that extra assurance that it’s coming from me. Once she’s more confident, we’ll work on unannounced spooks, but for now we’re taking it slow to help her get used to the process of calming down and Staying calm when she sees unfamiliar things.

Today’s What’s This item was my bottle of coconut water. She snuck a nostril right up against the lip of the bottle which was awesome. She does hate it. Which is sad because I was extremely willing to share. But maybe someday she’ll change her mind.

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#mydress

Didn’t post this weekend because I was helping with my barn’s Renaissance Faire performance! I kept getting back super late so Starlight and I did a lot of hanging out in her paddock. I did sit on the ground while she ate and she Didn’t step on me 🎉 and I jumped the fence when I left instead of going through the gate and called her over and she let me lean over and pet her 🐴 we’ve been working on recall for the past few days and she’s getting really good at Come Here ✨

Had a minor scare today because she had a massive welt, but we’re pretty sure it’s just a bee sting, which is a lot more manageable than a tumour. She stood tied for the first time and let me walk right behind her! We needed to brush up on touching her legs and hooves a bit, but she did really well after the first time. She also let me scrub her girth groove for a While (I have no idea how she got it that muddy) and topped off the day with Not being as scared of an umbrella as I expected ☂️

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She styled her bangs today :)

There was a lot going on at the barn and we wanted to stay out of the way, so we just hung out in her paddock today! I had her at liberty for most of a grooming routine, but she got squirrelly about the right side after I curried her girth groove so we haltered for the rest of the groom and then she was Free again 🐎

Mostly just worked on recall today and strengthening some other vocal cues. She let me brush the tops of her hooves with a hoof pick and drape over her back from both sides and throw my jacket at her ✨

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Gross old trailer hay >>> beautiful fresh alfalfa

Ms. Perfect again today! We decided that she was juuust tall enough to do liberty in the outdoor arena without ducking under the fence. She was super excitable today, so we only took a short walk on the road and then turned around while we were both still in a good mood. She was really brave about my coach touching her and practicing injections on her neck. We found a possible lipoma that we’re keeping an eye on, but for now we’re not super worried about it. It isn’t behaving like cancer, so it might be benign or just a weird dislocation or allergic reaction or something.

We did liberty for the first time! She struggled a lot with Whoa because she wanted to follow me everywhere instead. I did have to give her a little kiss on the nose every time she came up to me when she wasn’t supposed to.

I pulled her tail and she panicked and tried to back away a bunch, but after like 10 seconds of hanging on she halted and got Many treats for it. That was also at liberty, so her calming down without getting the usual tug on her halter was doubly special. She’s not rearing anymore when she gets upset, so I might be able to stop wearing a helmet relatively soon (Very relatively).

She didn’t panic at all when a bunch of small children ran by because she is perfect forever. She’s getting really good at stopping shoulder to shoulder at liberty — now we just need to work on Whoa and divorcing clucking (“move”) from “come here” so that lunging doesn’t get confusing and frustrating for her later.

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She’s nude…..

She got moved to the paddock today! We’re setting up a tent stall soon to keep her dry. I took her halter off yesterday to do a test run of actually haltering her today. She was PERFECT as always, so she gets to stay naked when I’m not working with her. This is the first time in months that she hasn’t been living in a halter and I can tell she’s loving it.

We did a tiny bit of trailering today but then the thunder started and I didn’t want to add too many stressors before she was comfy with the trailer in isolation, so we called it for the day. I did a lot of desensitizing work with a random umbrella (she hated it). She wouldn’t approach it when it was above her head, but did stand still while I moved it so it was over her head anyway, which is a success. It made lots of Scary Sounds which she was very brave about.

She also let me grab her legs and touch her girth groove a bunch, so we’ll keep working on getting her used to that but she’s doing an amazing job right now and is way ahead of where I expected. I pinched her neck a bunch to start prepping her for getting shots and stuck my fingers in her nose and covered her eyes and she Also did a perfect job with all of that.

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Jormungamdr, the World Eater

Took a walk today! She let me touch all up and down all of her legs with my real wizard hands 🙌 I could only walk behind her once before she got too nervous but she did let me do it Once. In absence of the ability to Consistently walk behind her, I pulled her tail a bunch and she did great with that 🐅 There was another aggressive horse in the main area of the barn and there was nobody else here to hold him so putting her in her stall required a Lot of scary loud noises and arm-waving and backing her up really fast, but she did EXCELLENT and barely freaked out even at the Gestures Designed To Scare Large Socialized Horses. This is because she is perfect. She’s been doing great with our mock haltering sessions so I got to take her halter off for the first time in several actual months. We’ll see tomorrow if she lets me put it back on 🪢

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She loves to laugh and play :)

No longer keeping track of days because I got tired of doing it 🐴 She was a baby angel forever today. Touched all up and down her legs again with the lunge whip and the vibes felt right so I touched her front leg with my actual real hand and she stood perfectly ✨ went halfway down her back leg too but she started getting a little anxious so we called it good for the day!!! She didn’t want to trailer today but we compromised with having her put one foot up and hold it there, then the other. She also let me lean over her with Both arms on her back and stood perfectly. I whacked her with a pool noodle a bit and swung it over her head Wizard Staff Style which she Hated but also stood for. Wrapped up desensitization by attacking her with an empty bedding bag and she had a good panic about it but once she realized I was asking her to stay still she tried her very best to be brave. Her whole back half was shaking like a leaf but she kept her feet planted because she’s a perfect angel forever.

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Almost drowned today (got a normal bath with the hose)

Day 23 eek!!! Got a new type of bedding for her stall which I think she’s excited about. Let me touch (with the butt of a lunge whip) all 4 of her legs up and down inside and out and lift her tail and touch her girth groove and udders all with ZERO COMPLAINTS??? She was clearly a little Nervous but like barely.

She also let me hose off her entire body and coconut oil her mane finally. She’s not a fan of the hose but we’ll get there with some more positive reinforcement. I think she liked the coconut oil — she stood well for it (and apparently it’s a fly repellent, which is great because she especially cannot stand flies).

I think she hates apples. I tried getting her used to oral medications by filling one with applesauce and she wanted NOTHING to do with either the syringe or even just the applesauce, and she keeps flehmen-ing at me when I offer her apples.

She was also very brave and crossed a little river today!!!